Nokia Drive+ beta hits all Windows Phone 8 smartphones

Nokia has made Nokia Drive+ available for all Windows Phone 8 devices, extending its navigation app beyond the Lumia range for the first time.

Microsoft recently revealed on its Windows Phone Blog that it had worked with Nokia to bring Nokia Drive+ to a wider range of devices. It’s available to download now from the Windows Phone Store in the UK, US and Canada.

The original Nokia Drive has remained exclusive to Nokia Lumia devices since the launch of the Nokia Lumia 800 with Windows Phone 7 at the end of 2011.

Nokia Drive+ for Windows Phone 8 is still in beta, but it already offers an excellent free sat nav tool for Windows Phone 8 users. This includes full turn-by-turn navigations with live voice guidance.

Another big feature of Nokia Drive+ – and a major reason why it’s one of the few reliable mobile sat nav solutions – is its offline maps feature. Rather than relying on an unreliable mobile network signal to stream in information, you can download whole maps to your phone – all it needs is a solid GPS link.

Nokia Drive+ also comes with advanced satellite navigation features such as speed limit warnings and night and day modes.

Is this a major plus for the Windows Phone 8 platform, or is it just one less reason to consider the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820? Let us know what you thin through the Trusted Reviews Facebook and Twitter feeds, or use the comments box below to have your say.